Network address translation (NAT) is a mechanism for managing the shortage of Internet protocol (IP) version 4 addresses. NAT enables devices on a private network to utilize private IP addresses, and when these devices need to communicate with other devices outside the private network, a router translates the private IP addresses into public IP addresses as network packets travel through the router from the private network to the public network.
However, NAT operations on a centralized device (e.g., the router) may tax resource utilization on the device and cause network performance problems. Further, the device may become a bottleneck for network traffic and a failure on the device may be catastrophic for the performance of the network.
It is in this context that embodiments arise.